Labour council applied for its own 400 vehicles to be exempt from Khan's ULEZ expansion

A Labour council has put on a rank display of hypocrisy after backing Sadiq Khan's outrageous expansion of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) - then asking for an exemption for its own 400 vehicles.

Hounslow council deputy leader Katherine Dunne wrote to the London mayor last summer raising concerns that it would not be able to make all its vehicles ULEZ compliant by the August 2023 deadline.

The council is one of 16 outer London boroughs that have supported the mayor's plans to expand the zone, and already has 37 ULEZ cameras installed on its streets.

But failing to meet the compliance rules - which include facing a daily charge of £12.50 if driving within the specified area without meeting the emissions standards - would place further pressure on the authority's budgets, Miss Dunne argued.

She said in the letter, obtained by The Daily Telegraph: 'We have already invested in their replacement, yet supply chain challenges mean the earliest likely date for vehicle delivery is 2023

'If there are any further delays in the market and supply, there will be insufficient time to make the fleet compliant before the proposed August 2023 rollout.'

Miss Dunne added: 'If no dispensation is provided, we will be subject to ULEZ penalties, putting further pressure on councils budgets.'

It also emerged that the mayor has asked Transport for London to look into using ULEZ cameras to charge car users in a 'pay-as-you-drive' scheme in the capital.